Hong Kongers should be freed from commuting

It's hardly surprising that commuting is regarded as one of the least enjoyable things in life. Often a fruitless limbo between personal and work time, commuting has been identified as one of the main causes of daily stress: lengthy journeys of over 45 minutes are associated with poor sleep quality, exhaustion and health problems.

It also takes its toll on relationships, with a higher likelihood of separation among commuters that regularly face a long journey to work.

In particular, those travelling by car, train or bus are at greater risk of higher stress levels, exhaustion, poor sleep and more time off work, according to a recent study by BMC Public Health.

The trials and tribulations of commuting can also affect businesses through lost productivity – to the tune of £1.2 billion in the UK alone. And the UK is not one of the world's worst offenders: the costs in cities like Mexico City, where IBM records the highest levels of 'commuter pain', are colossal.

To discover how workers would use their time if they didn't have to commute, and to identify the potential benefits to workers and businesses that a shorter journey into work could bring, Regus commissioned a survey canvassing the opinions of over 16,000 professionals across over 80 countries. The survey also asked workers how frequently they needed to commute, in order to measure the level of penetration of flexible working practices.

The research revealed that, although average commuting time globally hasn't changed significantly since the previous survey 18 months earlier, 35% of Hong Kong workers reported that they are free to work from locations other than their company's main offices for half a week or more, reducing the time they spend traveling and giving them the flexibility to choose work locations closer to home.

Globally, the figure was even higher, at 48%.

In recent years, businesses have increasingly offered flexible working options to staff as they find that worker morale and health improve. Research has in fact shown that mental health, blood pressure, and sleep patterns are better among people who can determine their own working hours.

While the health benefits of slashing commutes, either through cutting travel time or reducing the number of times each week that workers must make the journey have been amply investigated, little is yet known about the productivity and business benefits of flexible working practices.

Confirming previous findings showing that 72% of companies had experienced increased productivity as a direct result of flexible working, the latest Regus survey discovered that if workers were able to reduce their commute, over half of Hong Kong workers (56%) would use some of that time to work instead, effectively gaining additional working hours and boosting productivity.

Other activities that local workers said they would gladly swap with commuting are: spending more time exercising and getting fitter (83%), spending more time with their partner and family (82%) and seeing friends (66%) – all higher than the global average.

If true, this means that, given the chance to cut their commute, Hong Kong workers would probably be fitter, enjoying an improved work/life balance and, as a result, better emotional and psychological well-being.

Earlier this year, Regus research showed that 41% of workers globally felt companies were now doing more to reduce employees' commuting time than two years ago. This suggests that businesses increasingly recognize the undesirable effects of a long journey can have.

Of course, not all businesses are able to reduce commute time for workers on a daily basis: as an alternative to cutting commute time, the research suggests that businesses are increasingly allowing staff to work from alternative locations that are closer to home, at least some of the time.

Although the proportion of professionals globally that enjoy some degree of freedom over work location for half the week or more is substantial, businesses could still be doing more.

In Hong Kong, the figure is significantly lower than the global average, and even globally, over 50% of workers don't yet have that freedom. The sooner businesses start harnessing the benefits of reducing their workers' commuting time, the happier, healthier and more productive those workers will be.